I Found a Bronzer That Actually Shows Up on My Dark Skin

For years I’ve written about bronzer as that perfect product to give your face a subtle glow. In theory, I know exactly how it works, and I’ve seen professional makeup artists use it with great results: Applied to the forehead, hollows of the cheeks, along the jawline (and sometimes along the sides of the nose), bronzer's dark, suntanny color accentuates the shape of your face to give you a sculpted look. In reality, I’ve never used the stuff. Black girls don’t wear bronzer. I wrote it off as yet another product category that doesn’t quite translate to all consumers (sort of like how dry shampoo is a complete mystery to me as someone with Afro hair).

Then contouring went mainstream and products started arriving at my desk in dark chocolate and ebony shades deep enough to get the effect that many fair-skinned women turn to bronzer for. It was like an aha moment. “Oh, this is how bronzer is supposed to work.” When I’m getting all made up for a night out, I’ll often use a contouring stick to sculpt my face. However, no matter how you do it, contouring is a heavy-handed look—more for photos than everyday life. Every time I use contour, I’m often looking around wondering if people can still see the deep line I drew on my face hours before (YouTubers make it look easy but my blending is hit or miss).

But a month ago, one trip to Sephora totally flipped the script on my contouring-bronzing thoughts. The Sephora employee doing my makeup brought out Bobbi Brown Bronzer ($44) to shade my face. I looked at him like, “I’m sorry. I’m black. That is not gonna work,” but respecting that he’s an expert, I let him do his thing. When he finished the look and swiveled me to the mirror, I was a little bit shocked and very impressed.

The bronzer gave my face a slight warmth that looked as if I spent two days lying by the pool, without the obvious lines that contouring leaves (at least when I do it). Then, when he added highlight on top, I was glowing. I got so many compliments on my skin that night. I immediately bought the bronzer, and it’s become a part of my regular makeup rotation.

Now, I use bronzer over contour stick every time. Yes, me, a black girl. (Note: I use the darkest shade in the Bobbi Brown formula called Deep, and I have milk chocolate skin, so the product won’t work for ALL brown girls.) I apply the product right before blush and highlighter, using and angled cheek brush like the MAC Duo Fibre Curved Sculpting Brush ($35). I sweep the bronzer from my temples to the hollow in my cheeks and down around my jawline (in the shape of the number three). Overall the effect is so much more natural than contour and so much quicker. I also love this bronzer because it keeps my winter foundation from looking pasty on my summer skin.

I’m glad to say I was wrong about bronzer. There are ways to use it on dark skin, and it's actually become an essential part of my makeup routine.